Mojo Burrito in St. Elmo (downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee) serves great Tex-Mex food in a fun, casual atmosphere with a focus on local food!
I’ve written about Mojo Burrito before, but the Red Bank location. Besides, it’s been a few years. The original location, the St. Elmo Mojo Burrito moved a few weeks ago into the location that formerly housed Slick’s Burgers and, before that, Sugar’s Ribs. They’ve done quite a bit of remodeling on the location, brightening it up, changing the seating arrangement, and adding an expansive outdoor seating area (both covered and uncovered) for those who like to dine al fresco.
The first thing that you notice when you walk in, at least if you’ve ever been to the previous location, is that the line makes sense now. The last time I went into the previous location before it was lunch time on a week day and the line got out of control. No one knew where to stand. That kind of thing stresses me out.
Typically I order nachos when I go into a place like Mojo Burrito. I just have a thing for salty tortilla chips gooey with melted cheese. The fish tacos caught my eye, though, so I decided to order those-fried tilapia tenders, served with remoulade sauce and pineapple salsa, with beans and rice on the side. I ordered black beans with my rice, Mexican-spiced rice. I took my tacos on soft flour tortillas (you can also get crunchy corn tortillas). The fish was cornmeal breaded and fried till crisp, nicely seasoned. The tacos came with lettuce and I also got a little bit of fresh jalapeño. The remoulade was delicious, just lightly spicy with a few capers (if you hate capers, don’t worry…you won’t even taste them). The pineapple salsa was fantastic…pineapple with a little onion and jalapeño, very fresh. Everything worked really well together.
Philip stuck to his usual, a burrito. He’s a traditionalist. He got it with ground chuck, which the guy taking the orders told him was “very garlicky”. He was not lying. He also got rice, black beans, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, pico de gallo, and a little of the hot salsa. It was quite a burrito, and I am always astonished by the ability of the burrito makers to fold those gigantic things so proficiently. The guy made it look easy! The burrito was huge, very fresh, and delicious. The burritos also come with a side of chips and salsa, plus we ordered a small basket of chips with the mild salsa because I wanted some too. The chips were light and perfectly salted, the salsa garlicky and just a tiny bit tangy with jalapeño.
The thing that I love about Mojo Burrito is their commitment to fresh and local ingredients. Their prices are really very close to similarly structured chain restaurants (e.g. Moe’s) and the portions are generous to say the least. They have a creative, varied menu with something for everyone. For fresh, local, and delicious Tex-Mex in St. Elmo, check out Mojo Burrito’s new location!
Mojo Burrito St. Elmo is located at 3950 Tennessee Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37409. You can call them at 423-822-MOJO (6656). You can check out their menu and learn more about Mojo Burrito on their website, mojoburrito.com. You can also like Mojo Burrito on Facebook.
